Writing is the landscape through which poets explore the human body. The fluidity of a text often mirrors our relationship to memory—the recollection of the sensory discovering harmony with the fluidity of a poem’s language and syntax. But what happens when a disruption in our fundamental experience of being alters the ways in which we experience the world?

In spaces of distress, poetry often makes courageous leaps in formal reinvention. As opposed to dwelling heavily on the subject of physical disruption, this class will examine ways to champion artists who have discovered or reimagined poetic form to discuss human form with vulnerability and authenticity. Class time will be devoted to in-class writing, sharing work and discussing readings.